Connect Four Poker Rules

Connect Four is played by up to six players with a standard 52-card deck. It is a variant of five-card draw and is closely related to Kings and Little Ones, with fours taking the place of kings.

All fours are wild.

A player who holds at least one four may also treat the lowest card in their hand as wild. A player who holds no four has no wild card at all.

1.3(a) If a player's lowest card is itself a four, the fours are that player's only wild cards.

1.3(b) Whether all cards of the lowest rank are wild, when a player holds two or more of them, and whether an ace counts as low when finding the lowest card, are not settled by the sources. The dealer shall announce the rule before the deal.

Wild cards make five of a kind possible. Unless the dealer announces otherwise, five of a kind is the highest hand, above a straight flush. See hand rankings.

Each player antes. The dealer then deals five cards face down to each player, one at a time.

The first betting round begins with the player immediately to the dealer's left.

There are three draws and four betting rounds in total:

Players draw in turn, starting with the first active player to the dealer's left. A player may discard no more than three cards at any draw. Whether a player may stand pat (draw no cards) is not stated in the source, and the dealer shall announce it before the deal.

Each betting round after the first begins with the first active player to the dealer's left.

After the final betting round, the remaining players show their hands. The best five-card hand, with wild cards counted as the player chooses, wins the pot.

Players should read their own hands carefully. Under the source's convention, a player who declares a weaker hand than they hold is bound by the declaration. Many home games instead apply the rule that the cards speak. The dealer shall announce which applies.